


Expecto Remedium

by Proudmoore



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Hogwarts AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 06:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17616866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Proudmoore/pseuds/Proudmoore
Summary: When Jim gets himself into a pickle with a jinx gone wrong, he solicits a little help from a friend.





	Expecto Remedium

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Auduna_Druitt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auduna_Druitt/gifts).



Jim cursed as he glanced down at his wand arm, seeing his fingers returning to their normal state of being.  His invisibility spell was wearing off and he was still a good distance away from the dungeons.  Thankfully it was late enough at night that he didn’t have to worry about running into overmany people, but there was always a chance one of the house elves might be up and about.  

Then there was the school’s watchdog, I-Chaya.

Hurrying his pace, Jim ducked behind a row of statues, hiding in shadows and doing his best not to trip over anything.  Thankfully he knew a shortcut from the entrance hall and so he only had a short distance more to creep along before he could dash into a back passage and travel the rest of the way in peace.

Voices drifted in from the other end of the entrance hall as he approached and Jim froze in his tracks behind a suit of armor.  He watched professors Pike and Marcus walk into the room, chatting as they carried on up the grand staircase toward their respective quarters.  He waited a few minutes after they’d disappeared to ensure they were truly gone and then made a mad dash for the tunnel that would take him to the dungeons.

The tunnels were dark, damp, and creepy, but he’d traveled them so many times in past when he’d been late for class that he had no trouble navigating even without the light of his wand.  He followed the steep decline of the narrow, twisting passageway until it opened up into the hallway leading to the potions classroom.  There, the hallway was lit by torches and Jim squinted a little as he adjusted to the light.  He glanced around, finding no signs of life, and dashed from his hiding place, making a beeline for the classroom.

He was surprised to find the door open as he approached the alcove into which the door was recessed.  He paused, leaning in closer, his heart rate climbing a little as he saw a shadow moving inside.  Cursing, he moved to back up in an attempt to avoid detection, but his position was given away in an instant as he stepped on his robe, tripping and smacking into the door, forcing it open with a creak.

“Who’s there?”  A voice from inside called.

Jim sagged in relief; it wasn’t professor Boyce.  It was just another student, one whose voice he was very familiar with.  He straightened up, pushing the door open the remainder of the way and walking into the room with a grin.

“It’s me,” Jim replied, making his way over to where the other boy was working on a potion at the center of the room.

“What are you doing out of bed after hours?”  Leonard asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Jim shot back, leaning against the professor’s desk to watch as Leonard stirred a thick, green potion.

“I’m working on extra credit for professor Boyce,” Leonard replied.  “I’ve got permission, but I’m willing to bet my right arm that you don’t.”

Jim shrugged.

“I think it’s oppressive of the system to mandate we get permission to work on additional projects,” he said brightly.  “It puts a damper on our learning and independence, if you ask me.”

“Nobody asked you,” Leonard muttered.  “So I’ll ask  you again, what are you doing here?”

Jim pushed off of the desk, walking closer and leaning in to peer at the mixture in the cauldron.  It smelled like pine needles and tickled his nose a bit.  He straightened up again.  When he didn’t immediately respond, Leonard rounded on him.

“Don’t make me play the head boy card,” Leonard drawled.  “I could take ten points from Gryffindor and give you detention; have you scrubbing cauldrons, or worse.”

Jim rolled his eyes.

“You wouldn’t do that,” he said lightly.  “I’m not making any trouble, I’m just trying to work on some extra credit of my own.  And it’s good you’re here because I might need some help.”

Leonard didn’t believe him for a second.  He raised an eyebrow.

“What are you up to?”  He asked one more time.

“I need to make a potion that’ll help me get rid of this,” Jim said flatly, giving in.

He held out his hands, palms facing up, to show Leonard the thick carpet of hair that had sprouted there.  Leonard couldn’t hold back a laugh as he took in the problem and he met Jim’s gaze, stifling further guffaws as best he could.

“Why don’t you go see Madam Chapel?”  Leonard asked.  “She’ll put you right in no time.”

“Because she’s going to ask me how this happened,” Jim replied.  “And I’d rather not disclose that, least of all to her.”

“You usually go out of your way to find yourself in the hospital wing so you can ogle her,” Leonard said warily.  “It must be really embarrassing if you’re trying to avoid her.”

Jim gave Leonard a pleading look.

“You’ve got to help me,” he said.  “Hufflepuffs are supposed to be kind and loyal.  I could use a little kindness and loyalty right now.”

Leonard sighed exaggeratedly, putting up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“Alright, alright,” he said lightly.  “But what’s in it for me?”

Jim chewed his lip, considering.

“I’ll let Chekov get a head start for the snitch at the next quidditch match,” Jim offered eventually.

Leonard snorted.

“He’d string you up if he found out you let him win,” Leonard scoffed.  “And believe me, he’d know.”

Jim leaned against a nearby desk, chewing his lip thoughtfully for a moment.  He leveled a stare on Leonard.

“Dinner in Hogsmeade on our next outing,” Jim proposed.  “On me.”

Leonard considered the other boy’s proposition for a moment, then nodded.

“Fine,” he agreed.  “But we’re going to the Three Broomsticks this time.  I don’t fancy having to half-carry you back up to the hospital wing again if you get into another brawl at the Hog’s Head.”

“Must you suck the fun out of everything?”  Jim asked wryly, earning himself a scowl from Leonard.

The older boy resumed stirring the potion in the cauldron before him, referring to a nearby textbook for reference.  As he worked, he pointed at the shelf of books across the room.

“I need a book,” Leonard instructed.  “Antidotes and Antivenins by Acacius Blatchford.  It’ll be on the right hand side of the top shelf.”

Jim nodded, committing the title to memory and heading off in search of it.  It didn’t take him long to locate, and as he pulled it off of the shelf Leonard called out a page number.  Jim flipped through the tome as he brought it over to a nearby cauldron, looking at the ingredients he would need.

“The page number for this particular potion is an odd thing for you to have memorized,” Jim commented idly as he moved over to the ingredient stores.  “Gotten into some trouble of your own, have you?”

“I’m studying healing,” Leonard replied.  “It’s one of the basic potions I need to master.”

Jim didn’t quite believe him, but he shrugged and carried on.  He gathered supplies as Leonard continued working on his own potion, bringing them over to his cauldron and surveying the lot.  He matched the ingredients with the list of what was required, coming up short by one.

“I’m missing aquavitae,” Jim commented.

“It’s a restricted ingredient,” Leonard explained.  “I’ve got a key to the cabinet.”

He fished it out of the pocket of his robes, holding it out to Jim.  The younger boy took it with a nod of thanks, making his way toward Professor Boyce’s personal stores.  He unlocked the cabinet, surveying its contents, cataloguing them for future reference.  He spotted the aquavitae in a large bottle at the back of the cabinet, reaching for it and pulling it out.  He slipped the bottle into the pocket of his robes and reached back in to snag a few other odds and ends that might come in handy at another time.

“Don’t even think about it,” Leonard interjected, glancing over his shoulder.

Jim rolled his eyes and put whatever he didn’t need back, locking up the cabinet.  He returned to Leonard’s side, setting down his ingredients, grinding some dried roots and leaves into a powder as called for in the recipe.  Leonard watched him from afar, still putting the finishing touches on his own potion.  Jim poured some liquid ingredients into the cauldron per the instructions, but cursed as the ladle slipped in his furry hands, splashing around in the beginnings of his antidote.

“Give it here,” Leonard instructed, extinguishing the fire beneath his own cauldron to allow his potion to cool.  “You’ll make a mess of it.”

Jim huffed.

“I’m perfectly capable of stirring a cauldron, thanks.”

“Don’t get all offended,” Leonard said coolly.  “I’m just trying to help, like you begged me to.”

“I didn’t beg.”

Leonard’s gaze flicked over to Jim for a moment and he arched an eyebrow.  Jim sighed in defeat.

“Fine, I begged,” he said grumpily.  “But only a little.”

Leonard grinned impishly and stirred the cauldron, adding a small aliquot of leech juice before adding the powdered ingredients from Jim’s mortar.  The potion bubbled violently for a few moments before settling, turning a pale, translucent blue color.  Jim consulted the recipe, though Leonard could tell the potion was coming along properly just by its appearance and scent.

The minutes ticked by as the potion simmered, filling the air above the cauldron with a sparkling sheen.  Leonard bottled the potion he’d been working on earlier while Jim added the last couple of ingredients to the antidote, watching them dissolve away to nothing in the brew.  The potion emitted a brief hissing noise, then fell silent.  Jim eyed it somewhat warily as he extinguished the flame beneath it.

“Are you sure this is going to work?”  He asked as Leonard returned to his side.  “Something feels off.”

Leonard glanced into the cauldron, wafting some of the vapors up and giving them a good sniff.

“It smells about right,” he said with a shrug.  “And it’s close to the right color.  You might’ve been off on your measurements with the dry ingredients, but it should work all the same.”

Jim frowned but nodded.  He reached out to grasp the ladle so he could take a dose, but the hair on his palms prevented him from getting an adequate grip.  The ladle fell back into the cauldron with a splash and a clatter, spattering him with some of the potion.  Leonard rolled his eyes.

“Allow me,” he said lightly.

Jim groused a little as Leonard picked up the ladle and held it up so that he could take a mouthful of the potion.  It tasted even worse than it smelled and Jim sputtered as he swallowed, choking on the foul liquid.  Leonard clapped him on the back, encouraging him to cough until his breathing settled down again.  Jim grimaced and glanced at his hands.

“How long is this supposed to take to work?”  Jim asked.

Leonard frowned.

“The effects should be pretty immediate,” he explained.  “Maybe you added a little too much aquavitae, it could be diluted.”

Jim sighed, continuing to stare at his hands.  A few seconds ticked by and the skin on his face began to tingle.  His nose started itching and he glanced down at it, cursing as it began to sprout thick, dusky fur not unlike the coat on his palms.  He reached up, gasping as his nose started to elongate a little, whiskers growing out from the snout.

“What is this?!”  Jim exclaimed.

Leonard had to bite back a laugh.

“Did you add bat wing or bat spleen?”  He asked.

“Wing, I think,” Jim answered, still gingerly prodding at his face.

Leonard nodded, patting Jim’s arm in commiseration.

“The recipe calls for spleen,” Leonard explained.

“So what am I supposed to do now?!”

Leonard pointed to a nearby chair, nudging Jim toward it.

“Sit back while I brew it properly,” Leonard replied.  “Don’t worry, we’ll get you sorted.”

Jim grumbled but did as he was told, parking himself in the chair and watching Leonard work.  The faint glow from the torches on the wall and the flame beneath the cauldron brought a softness and warmth to Leonard’s features that Jim wasn’t accustomed to seeing and he felt his face flush beneath the fur as Leonard’s handsomeness registered.

Leonard worked in a companionable (if slightly awkward) silence for a while, measuring out ingredients with precision, deftly adding them to the cauldron and stirring as per the directions.  It was fascinating to watch, and Jim couldn’t bring himself to look away.  He stared on while Leonard finished up, only glancing away from the other boy’s hands as Leonard extinguished the flames beneath the cauldron.

“Give it a few minutes to cool, then we’ll try it out,” Leonard said softly.

Jim nodded, jumping up to help as Leonard started putting unused ingredients away and washing out cauldrons.  Jim’s grip was still awkward and there wasn’t much he could do without fumbling things, but Leonard appreciated the help nevertheless.  By the time they finished tidying up, the potion was cool enough to drink.  Leonard held the ladle aloft again and Jim flashed him a wary look.

“Go on, then,” Leonard encouraged.  “You’ll be back to normal in no time.”

Jim nodded and leaned in to sip the potion off the ladle.  This time, while still unpleasant, it didn’t taste overly bitter or acrid.  It was rather more scintillating, like a carbonated drink.  He wrinkled his nose as the potion’s slight fizz tickled it and pulled away, leaving Leonard to set the ladle aside.

This time the effect was almost immediate.  Jim could feel the hair receding and his nose shrinking back down to normal size.  He looked down at his palms, watching the last of the fur disappear, flexing his fingers experimentally.  He reached up, feeling for any traces of fur left on his face, glad to find none.  He grinned as he glanced up at Leonard again.

“You’re brilliant,” Jim commented.

“You’re welcome,” Leonard said with a chuckle.  “And I’m going to bottle the rest of this up for you lest you need it again.”

Jim laughed and moved to help Leonard now that his hands were hairless and dextrous again.  Between the two of them, clean up was a breeze and they finished quickly, leaving the classroom as spotless as it had been when they’d come in.  As they were getting ready to leave, Leonard approached Jim with a small bottle in his hands, holding it out to the younger boy.

“There are about four more doses in here,” Leonard explained.  “And if you need more than that to get you through to the end of the school year then you’re beyond help.”

Jim laughed, playfully nudging Leonard as they headed for the door.

“Looks like I owe you more than dinner,” Jim said brightly, pocketing the bottle.

“I’m sure you’ll find some way to repay me for my kindness and loyalty,” Leonard teased.  “But right now I’ll settle for letting me walk you back to your dormitory.  You won’t have to sneak around if you’re with me.”

Jim’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

“But I like sneaking around,” he said impishly.

Leonard rolled his eyes.

“Come on, just accept the invitation.  If you behave, I might even kiss you goodnight.”

Jim felt his cheeks flush and he smiled, briefly meeting Leonard’s gaze.

“Deal.”


End file.
